Broken Stone
by Lucreace
Summary: Awoken from stasis, Bucky had to try and survive in a world which is nothing like the one he left behind. I suppose I missed writing post apocalyptic stuff and decided to write some more... usual warnings for violence, gore and other such things
1. Chapter 1

He knew he slept; how could he not? The passage of time was something the human brain was aware of even on a subconscious level. The comfort of the darkness was all he craved then, the suspended black kept his mind clear and utterly relaxed. It was the place he returned to after they were done with him and a place where he free. As much as a comfort as it was, it never lasted. Never. They always came. He never questioned them; such was not for the likes of him. He obeyed, ever the loyal soldier. The nightmare began when he awoke!

Except this was different, things were different now. Vastly different at that too, the cold lack of anything in his mind wasn't present. The calm before the storm was definitely not there either. His head was full of everything. Blinking, he realised that he was no longer the Winter Soldier and that he hadn't been for some time either. Chilled, he shivered as he stood there, naked except for a pair of black shorts and some socks. Why the socks he had no idea, they did nothing to keep the cold away from his feet at all. Memories came flooding back when he thought he recognised where he was. Except this was different…

He blinked and ran a hand over his wet face. The fog of being frozen was still pretty thick and his mouth had that awful taste in it too. As though he had spent the night drinking, then throwing up and hadn't bothered to clean his teeth afterwards. A glass of water had handily been left on a nearby table and he slowly moved towards it. His limbs felt as though they'd not been moved in months, they hadn't, and his movements were slightly wooden and jerky. Not that it mattered; he seized the glass and downed it, instantly feeling better. Amazing what that liquid could do to restore ones sensibilities.

Next issue, clothing. It was cold! Looking around the room, he discovered there was everything he needed in there to get sorted out. Grabbing one of the larger towels, he headed for the bathroom. The hot shower was perhaps one of the best sensations he had experienced in recent years, though it appeared as if the bulb had gone in the room, he would mention it later on. Once dried and dressed, regulation black cargo pants and T-shirt, he returned to the room where he had awoken and sank into one of the chairs. He knew this was not a HYDRA facility, it was too clean and the room was white and somewhat clinical, if a little dark, not the grime covered places he had been used to before.

Nor was it Wakanda. The window in the room showed him a city scape that had evergreen trees and green grass. On the horizon there were mountains and forests, rather than jungle. No, he wasn't in Africa anymore. If he had to hazard a guess, he would say he was in America somewhere, New York would make a whole lot of sense. Was it SHIELD then? He had no real idea who it was who pulled him out the freezer, but he wanted to know why!

Were the triggers still in his head?

He had no idea whether that was true or not, he hoped not. The whole reason behind going into the freezer again was so they could work out how to get rid of them, enough death had happened because of him and he didn't need any more blood on his hands. These were questions that he knew would all be answered in time, he hoped at the very least. Right now, he realised he was hungry, his throat was drier than the ice he had sprung from and his leg muscles were threatening to cramp up from lack of movement. The room he was in was pretty small, so it was time to get up and go for a walk around to see what he could find.

Opening the door, he looked down the long corridor and blinked. He had expected to see more people around than were currently about. There was no one there at all. Odd. Something didn't seem quite right. Whenever he had been brought out of stasis before, he had been closely monitored and there were always people on hand to assist. Now, there was not a soul around, "Hello?" he called, wondering if there was anyone around to hear.

When he reached the door at the end of the corridor, he pushed through it and peered around this corner. Again, there was no one there; this was getting creepier by the minute. He found himself wishing he had some form of weapon with him, just in case someone crazy should jump at him and try cave his head in. It was unlikely they'd succeed but still, having something in his hand would be a comfort more than anything else.

He found a coffee machine. Something akin to relief flooded through him as he had the machine pour something liquid and hot into a cup. Whether it was coffee or brown sludge he had no idea, it was better than the coppery taste he currently had in his mouth though, that much was a truth. It appeared as though this room was some form of recreational area, there were enough sofas and chairs to sink a ship, a couple of vending machines (yes he considered raiding them, no he didn't actually do so) and several bins. There was still not a soul in sight however, maybe if he waited here, someone would appear that he could ask. If not, he could drink the coffee and plan what he was going to get up to next. The thing that bothered him the most, he realised as he sat down, was the complete and utter silence. No hum of machine, no distant beeping, just deep, clean silence. It was unnerving.

The further he went into the place, the creeper it became. There was no staff anywhere and all the lights were off in the place too. He shivered. The air was cold, had a fusty sort of smell to it, as though this place had not been used for some time. Pressing his lips together, he walked on. He found the elevator. Pressing the button told him what he already knew; there was no power. The stairs it was then. Finding them, he opened the door carefully. Something was very amiss here and he needed to be careful. Maybe there would be some people down in the lobby.

When he reached the lobby downstairs, he discovered something that shook the very foundation of his being.

There was a single woman standing in the centre of the room. He noticed there was smashed glass on the floor, that the lights were off and there was wire in the background hanging from the ceiling. He registered all of it but it had no meaning. His attention was drawn to the woman who was now slowly turning around. Something was wrong with her movements; the way she turned was too slow, too awkward. When she faced him, he gagged.

Her lower jaw was missing.

It didn't seem to stop her however; she began shambling over towards him, a moaning wet raspy sound coming from what remained of her mouth. The stench she emanated was vile; he was sure that had he eaten, he would have puked up. Gagging still, he took a step back, through the doors and crashed into the stairs, "What the fuck?" he muttered as his hand caught the rail before he toppled onto his back. His heart thudded in his chest, his palms suddenly very sweaty. That was like nothing he had ever seen before. His mind raced and he darted back up the stairs, putting some distance between Mrs No Jaw and himself. He was pretty sure she was after his head!

He scarpered, straight back to the place he had come from, found a window and looked out. Down below were plenty of people, were they people still? They shambled around aimlessly, shuffling and bumbling around as though there was no care left in the world. He watched them for a long moment, unable to tear his gaze away from the horror that was below him. Shuddering, he wrapped his arms around himself and turned his attention to the skyline. It was ruined. How he hadn't noticed earlier was surprising. Most of the nearest tower bocks had smashed windows, their status as habitable building now severely in question. There were more than a few that looked as though they had been hit with something and nearly knocked down.

A quick sweep of the street with his eyes told him that a lot of the convenience stores had been raided, probably for food. A couple of dead bodies lay in the road, their heads destroyed by something. Perhaps that was the key to surviving here, kicking heads in. He shuddered when he remembered the woman with no jaw, how her dead glassy eyes had starred at him. Running a hand through long hair, he pulled it out of his face and decided that here was as good a place as any to stay for the time being.

He went and raided the vending machine. A quick slam from his metal arm and it yielded its goodies to him. Alright, a couple of packets of crisps and a chocolate bar did not make for a very good meal but it was better than nothing at all! There was a fire axe on the opposite wall. He was willing to bet that the alarms had been dead some time, if the layer of dust covering the top of the case was anything to go by. He took the risk and yanked the cover off and picked up the axe. Silence! Perfect!

At least now he could face the horror downstairs, though what he would do afterwards he wasn't sure about. That could be dealt with after. Right now, he wanted to clear the ground floor of that thing. He crept down the stairs once more. The thing that was once a woman was still around the door. Without thinking about what he was doing, he charged forward and swung the axe easily. It cleaved the woman's head in two and she crumpled to the floor. Horrified by the way maggots burst out of her skull; he yanked back the axe and chopped, over and over.

It was only when he stopped that he knew he was screaming. The axe clattered to the floor and he leaned over, vomiting back up what he had eaten earlier. Spitting, he then straightened and picked up the axe. With a sigh, he leaned against the nearest wall and looked around, wondering what he was going to do now. The sun was setting and he got the idea that being out in the open at night was not a sensible idea. There were plenty of lockable rooms and it was in one of these on the second floor that he spent the night.

The following morning, he took the axe and decided it was time to get out there and see if there was anyone else alive in this apparent city of the dead.


	2. Chapter 2

**So I actually missed post apocalyptic writing and decided to have a crack at one in a different fandom. I hope this one is as fun to write (and read) as the last one was. Thanks to those who have reviewed this already, I do hope to continue writing this and keep it up to standard!**

 **Lu**

Well, the end of the world was turning out to be one big joke! There was hardly any food, clean water had become a precious commodity and being in a city was one of the most dangerous things one could consider doing. So why was it she found herself constantly being thrown back into the mix? Running a hand through her red hair, she sighed and shook her head, the group needed medicine and that was what she was here for. A quick trip to the hospital and back again before her presence would be noticed that was the plan.

She had come alone, not expecting overly much trouble. Zombies she could handle and she knew well enough that if there were any groups in the city, she could handle them too. That was if they even saw her. She knew her way around parts of the city so well that she could avoid people seeing her and those parts she did not know? She could improvise her way around those easily enough.

Getting to the hospital was the easy part, the city was almost clear of the dead it seemed and those she did come across, she dispatched easily with a knife just under the ear; her favourite manner of killing them. It took a lot less effort than an over the head stab as some of her friends favoured, anything to preserve her energy and keep going!

When she arrived at the hospital, the first thing she noticed was the fresh corpse in the antechamber. There was a puddle of black ooze on the floor and its head had been caved in by what looked like an axe. That put Natasha on her guard immediately; it meant that someone had been here recently. Question was whether the person who had done the chopping was still around.

The medicine would not be on the ground floor anyway and they desperately needed antibiotics so she had to push on and reach the upper floors. Her guard up, she found the staircase and crept up it, making no noise at all.

Sleep had been hard to come by; every noise he heard had him awake, axe in hand expecting one of those things to have found him. His heart raced at every slight creek he heard and sweat crept down his neck with the slightest movement. The curtain had him up and moving at least twice. When he had slept, he had been plagued with nightmares, not of his past but of what he had seen. A jawless woman crept trying to strangle him and he had awoken with the covers wrapped around his head.

When he had awoken, he was hungry. Hunger was going to be something he had to get used to in this new world he supposed. The vending machine down the hall would do for the time being but he had to find something decent to eat. That would mean venturing out into the world, something he was forced to admit that he was rather afraid of doing. The vending machine it would be for the morning then.

Running a hand through his hair, he flicked the locks back before he picked up the fire axe and carefully stuck his head out of the door. The corridors were completely clear so he stepped out and headed back to the machine to obtain something that might pass for breakfast. Using the fire axe, he smashed the glass and grabbed as much as he could.

As she was climbing the stairs, she heard the sound of smashing glass. She froze. Someone was in the building with her. Someone who was alive and still very much in charge of their own mind, question was, were they friendly or did they want to chop her into pieces with an axe. Perhaps she could avoid them completely, raid the cupboard and then get the hell out of there without disturbing whoever it was.

That sounded like the best course of action and so crept out into the corridor as silently as she could. The medical supply cabinet on this floor should be just along the corridor and around the corner, if he was correct that was.

She did her best to make no noise at all, however she was completely undone when she approached the glass of the vending machine, it was all over the floor and although she was careful, although she tried really hard, a small piece crunched under her foot.

What the hell was that? This time he knew he hadn't heard things, there was definitely someone creeping about out there. Picking up the axe, he padded over to the door once again. He pushed it open a fraction and took a look into the corridor. A red headed woman was picking her way over the glass in what appeared to be completely normal movements. He let out a soft sigh.

The moment he made a noise, her head snapped up and he knew he had been seen. Damn her hearing must be acute to pick that up! Well, there was no time like the present, "Hey!" he called out, "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk," he said. He stepped through the doorway and lowered the axe, "Unless you're one of them…" She didn't look like one of the undead, although she had gone a very pale shade of pink.

"It's you…" she said, a hand covering her mouth in shock. "How?"

"You know me?" he asked. Now he thought about it, she did look a little familiar. He took a step closer and he frowned, "Steve's friend…?" he asked.

"You can remember!"

"Fragments, what the hell is going on?" he asked. There were more important things to discuss right now than his broken past.

"James, don't you know?"

"I saw a dead woman walking about in the foyer and I saw a whole lot more out there," he said gesturing to the window. "What happened?"

"It's complicated, I think it best if you came with me back to the others, we'll explain everything then," she said. Bucky pressed his lips together and nodded aware that he would likely do a whole lot better if he was with others than he would if he was on his own.

"OK," he agreed. "Why are you here?"

"We need antibiotics, Stark had an infected leg wound and he's not doing so well, we need him alive…" she explained. He nodded and walked over to her. She seemed to take this for an acceptance of help and so led him down the corridor. Around the corner, they came across a cabinet, which seemed to be what she was looking for. She slung the bag off her back and began loading it up with what she could take. Bucky helped her and before long, they had everything they needed. On the way back, she paused at the vending machine and grabbed as much as she could from that too, "Don't judge me, you know how long it has been since I ate chocolate."

He shook his head

"Too long!" she replied. She offered him a smile and he did his best to return it, "Come on, let's get out of here and to somewhere safe," she said.

"Safe sounds good," he nodded. With that, she led him down the stairs and out into the streets. He could see the change in her immediately, she looked around as though something might be lurking and her pace was much quicker. He had no problem in keeping up and he too kept his eyes open for things that moved. The heat of the day seemed to have kept them to the shadows, or so he thought and for that he was thankful.

In the road at the edge of the city was a car. It became apparent that it was hers and she clicked the key to unlock it, "Why didn't you drive in?" he asked as he climbed into the passenger side.

"They're attracted to sound," she said as she started the engine, "This would have attracted way too much attention that going on foot. In the city it's much safer to walk," she explained. The car was turned around in moments and they were rattling through the suburbs and out into the countryside.

Looking out the window, it was as though everything was as it should be; there was very little sign of damage to the surrounded area, which was misleading. The sunshine lit up the grassy fields and gave the entire landscape a warm feeling. Perhaps that was the giveaway; the fields were not planted, there were no crops growing in the ground, only grass and some self-seeded plants that grew hither and thither, with no order to it. Subtle signs like this told him that something was indeed very wrong with the world.


End file.
